Re-posted from ON THE RADAR, a publication of Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
On March 31, 2023, the Ontario government ended the paid sick leave portion of the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL).
For more information, check out the April issue of ON THE RADAR.
This post gives general legal information. For legal advice for a specific situation please CONTACT KCLC.
Re-posted from ON THE RADAR, a publication of Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
The Government of Canada made many temporary changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) program because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The last of these changes ended on September 24, 2022. For more information, check out the October issue of ON THE RADAR!
This post gives general legal information. For legal advice for a specific situation please CONTACT KCLC.
Re-posted from ON THE RADAR, a publication of Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
In July, the Ontario government made big changes to the leave program created because of COVID-19. For more information, check out the August issue of ON THE RADAR!
This post gives general legal information. For legal advice for a specific situation please CONTACT KCLC.
Re-posted from ON THE RADAR, a publication of Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
Over the past few years, the provincial and federal governments have created financial benefits to help people affected by COVID-19. Some of these benefits are still available but are due to end later this year.
Click HERE for more information in this month’s issue of ON THE RADAR.
This post gives general legal information. For legal advice for a specific situation please CONTACT KCLC.
Re-Posted from Low-Income Energy Network (LIEN)
To support Ontarians through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) is once again temporarily increasing the flexibility of the Low-income Energy Assistance Program-Emergency Financial Assistance (LEAP EFA). In addition, the maximum value of grants amounts has been increased.
To be eligible for LEAP EFA, the applicant still needs to be in arrears but does not need to be in threat of disconnection or have been disconnected.
The limitation on receiving LEAP EFA only once per year is waived; however, the total amount received by a household may not exceed the maximum grant amount of for the year.
Low-income customers can get up to $1,000 in emergency assistance for their energy bills ($1,200 if their home is heated electrically).
This will extend until the end of 2022.
For more information, please visit the OEB website: https://www.oeb.ca/regulatory-rules-and-documents/whats-new-newsletter
This post gives general legal information. For legal advice for a specific situation please CONTACT KCLC.
Re-posted from ON THE RADAR, a publication of Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
Many tenants will see their rent go up in 2022 for the first time since 2020. This is because, in most cases, the government of Ontario didn’t allow any rent increases in 2021. For tenants not covered by the rent increase rules of the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), the increase could be a lot.
This issue of On The Radar looks at the rules in the RTA most landlords must follow if they want to increase rents in 2022.
Learn more at: https://mailchi.mp/cleo.on.ca/on-the-radar-special-covid-19-rules-about-rent-increases-end-december-31?e=63ebc9e633
This post gives general legal information. For legal advice for a specific situation please CONTACT KCLC.
Re-posted from ON THE RADAR, a publication of Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
The fast pace of change to housing laws and processes at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) continues into 2021. This month’s On the Radar looks at 3 noteworthy changes:
On January 13, 2021, the Ontario government made an order stopping the Sheriff’s office from evicting most tenants during the second COVID-19 state of emergency.
This “eviction freeze” was lifted gradually across the province, beginning with 3 eastern public health units on February 10, 2021. The last of the eviction freezes ended on March 8, 2021, in Toronto, Peel, and the North Bay-Parry Sound area.
This means that the regular eviction process is back in place. For most tenants, the eviction process follows these 5 steps:
Steps to Justice has more information about the eviction process.
In mid-March, the LTB started using Zoom for some online hearings, instead of Microsoft Teams. The LTB had been using Microsoft Teams since August 2020, when it first introduced video hearings.
People had many criticisms of Microsoft Teams. For example, Microsoft Teams does not allow people to speak to each other privately in “breakout rooms”. This was especially hard on tenants who wanted to speak to Tenant Duty Counsel. It also made it difficult for landlords, tenants, and their legal representatives to negotiate with each other.
Now that the LTB is testing out Zoom, they’re trying to address some of these concerns. There are breakout rooms for negotiating and for tenants to talk to Duty Counsel.
As well, the LTB had stopped providing mediation services for rent arrears hearings. But during this Zoom test, they’ll slowly start using mediators again.
Mediation can be helpful as landlords and tenants meet with a mediator, who’s neutral and trained to help them work out a solution. It’s also private and confidential, unlike eviction hearings, which are public. And at a hearing, the adjudicator has all of the power to decide what happens.
It’s important for tenants to get legal help as soon as possible before their LTB hearings. Tenants can also ask for help if they have concerns about accessing a virtual hearing.
To get help, tenants have several options, including:
During the pandemic, community legal clinics and the Tenant Duty Counsel Program are helping most people over the phone.
In 2019, the government changed how many offers of rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing someone can turn down before their household is taken off the waiting list.
The old rule said that households could get 3 offers. So, they could turn down the first 2 and stay on the waiting list.
With the new rule, households are given only one offer. If they turn it down, the household is removed from the waiting list, unless there are exceptional circumstances. For example, most regions allow people to remain on the waiting list if:
This new rule has been slowly rolled out across the province. The first regions applied the rule in January 2020, with more introducing it on January 1, 2021. The last of the regions will adopt the rule by July 1, 2021. This includes the City of Toronto. Tenants can check if the rule is being applied in their region.
For help related to your residential tenancy, please contact Kingston Community Legal Clinic.
Re-posted from ON THE RADAR, a publication of Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
When the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB) ended, the Canadian government created 3 new Recovery Benefits and made changes to Employment Insurance (EI). There are special rules about these programs for people who are on Ontario Works (OW) or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
This month’s On the Radar looks at how COVID-19 benefits interact with OW and ODSP.
To deal with the economic problems caused by COVID-19, the federal government created these new benefits:
These benefits are for people who miss work or lose their jobs because of COVID-19 and don’t qualify for EI. They pay $500 a week.
The government also made changes to EI. They lowered the amount of time that a person needs to qualify to 120 hours. And everyone now gets at least $500 a week.
Some people who get OW or ODSP will also qualify for EI or one of the Recovery Benefits. There’s a rule that says if someone on OW or ODSP qualifies for the Recovery Benefits or EI, they must apply to get them.
When someone on OW or ODSP gets money from another source, the government takes back some of their ODSP or OW money. This is often called a “clawback”.
People on OW and ODSP have to report their income every month. And both EI and the Recovery Benefits count as income.
Both EI and the Recovery Benefits are taken dollar for dollar from a person’s OW or ODSP payments. This means that for every dollar they get from EI or a Recovery Benefit, they lose one dollar from their OW or ODSP payments. So, while they’re getting money from these programs, most people will not get any money from OW or ODSP.
Usually, someone who gets EI or a Recovery Benefit would be removed from OW or ODSP because they have too much income. But instead, during COVID-19, OW or ODSP will give them a special status. This status means that they get $2.50 each month, which lets them:
Some people who got the new benefits at the same time as they got OW or ODSP are now being asked to pay OW or ODSP back. This is called an “overpayment”. They’ll get a letter that says they owe money.
Usually, OW and ODSP get money back by reducing a person’s future payments until they repay the full amount. OW and ODSP do not normally cancel someone’s debt.
But it’s often possible to make a deal about how much OW or ODSP takes each month, so that the person does not face “undue hardship”. People who want to do this need to talk to their caseworker.
If someone does not agree they owe money or with the amount OW or ODSP says they owe, they can ask for an internal review. This means that another OW or ODSP worker from the same office reviews the decision and decide whether or not to change it.
For more information about asking for an internal review, see:
If OW or ODSP does not change their decision, people can appeal to the Social Benefits Tribunal. For more information about an appeal, see:
For help related to a decision by OW or ODSP , please contact Kingston Community Legal Clinic.
Click HERE for a recent article in the Queen’s Journal regarding the effects of COVID-19 on student tenancies featuring an interview with John Done, Executive Director.
Re-posted from Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
Many new benefits programs have been announced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. CLEO’s chart helps you understand what’s available under the various programs and their eligibility rules.
Visit stepstojustice.ca/covid-19 for daily updates on how the law and legal services have been affected by COVID-19.
Kingston Community Legal Clinic 